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Page 1: Thefourtharticleinourmonthlyheritageseriesfocusesonarchaeology,thework ... · 2015-07-26 · unearthed Clockwise from main: Soil sieving to find charcoal and small bones and seeds;

User:eddiebuttDate:15/12/2013Time:18:21:25Edition:16/12/2013ExaminerLiveXX1612Page:11Color:

11ANALYSISIrish ExaminerMonday 16.12.2013

XX1 - V1

■ This article is the fourth in a series of articles published by the NationalMonuments Service of the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltachtin conjunction with The Irish Examiner and Limerick Education Centreaiming to supplement the recently revised second edition of ‘Archaeologyin Classroom, Time in Transition’. The resource offers a comprehensiverange of engaging lessons across a series of three themes: Worship andCommemoration; Lifestyle and Living; Archaeology at Work. All thelessons are targeted (but not exclusively) at students who are undertakingthe Transition Year Option. In this article the focus is on the concept ofcommemoration; the archaeological and historical evidence of itsdevelopment and its relevance today. For a more complete picture thisarticle should be read in conjunction with Theme I, Unit 4, Lessons 1 and 2of Time in Transition available on www.itsabouttime.ie.

The fourth article in our monthly heritage series focuses on archaeology, the workof an archaeologist and how archaeological research informs us about our past

The mysteriesof archaeologyunearthed

Clockwise from main: Soil sieving to find charcoal and smallbones and seeds; inside a zoo-archaeological lab;excavations at Taney, Dundrum, Co Dublin; identifying seedsin the lab. Through examination of our monuments we cansee the traditions, styles and influences that have beencarried forward into our daily lives.

Pictures: Limerick Education Centre, Chris Corlett/NMS

LaraCroft:TheTomb Raiderprotagonistis not yourtypicalarchaeologist.

W HAT image springsto mind when youhear and seethe wordarchaeologist?

Is it Lara Croft searching for amythical artefact among the ruinsof an ancient civilisation? Or peoplein muddy, yellow jackets and hardhats brandishing trowels andpaintbrushes?Working in archaeology often

involves trowels, hard hats and mudand, in reality, it is never asaction-packed as Tomb Raider orIndiana Jones, but perhaps notsurprisingly the Hollywood versionof archaeology tends to be one of itsenduring associations.Archaeology is the study of past

cultures and societies through theexamination of the material remainsthey have left behind, namely themonuments in our landscapeand the artefactsassociated withthem.If you look at

the buildings inyour town, or themonuments in the

countryside, you may focus on thosemonuments that are immediatelyvisible, such as a castle or church,but have you thought about whatmay be buried beneathyour feet or lying at the bottom ofthe sea?Some archaeological monuments

survive below ground with novisible trace on the surface. Thesemonuments are like the secrets ofour past, only coming to light afterbeing disturbed accidentally or re-vealed by archaeological excavation.Our landscape has changed over

thousands of years, with each gener-ation gradually eroding some of thetraces of those who lived beforethem. Some monuments survivebecause of their physical size orfabric, or because they have beenprotected by local tradition.Nature also plays a role in ensur-

ing the preservation of monuments.Take for example the Céide Fields,a Stone Age field system that waspreserved by a bog that graduallydeveloped as the landscape changedin north Mayo, or the ancienttrackways and bog bodies thathave survived in the midlandsbecause the peatland environment

preserves organic material, such aswood.Less dramatic changes in the

landscape have also led to thepreservation and protection ofarchaeological monuments. Adense covering of overgrowth orthe gradual grassing-over of amonument can often help theirpreservation as they slowlybecome ‘absorbed’ into the land-scape, often being mistaken for anatural feature. For example, the

grass-covered ‘hills’ we pass dailymay in fact protect a passagetomb or barrow burial.Whether clearly visible, pre-

served beneath the ground or inthe sea, all monuments tell ussomething important about ourpast — how our ancestors lived(and died) and how this is reflect-ed in our lives today.Through examination of ourmonuments we can see thetraditions, styles and influencesthat have been carried forwardinto our daily lives, from art toarchitecture, rituals to burialpractices, from how we cele-brate and commemorate, tothe changes in how we defendourselves and navigate by land andsea.Archaeologists also gather

information from sources suchas historical documents, maps,aerial photographs and throughfieldwork, though localknowledge is also an importantsource of information. Mostlandowners are very knowledge-able and proud of the monumentson their land. Field archaeologistsoften find that landowners havevaluable information about knownand ‘new’ monuments, as well asthe folklore and history associatedwith them.Through collating all of this

information and making compar-isons with other monuments hereand abroad, archaeologists canpiece together the story of ourculture, how it has developed andchanged, and why we are thepeople we are today.A lot of our information has

come from studying and surveyingmonuments.Field survey, remote sensing

and geophysical survey, as well asaerial photographs and carto-graphic research have helped tobuild a picture of our field monu-ments and the subsurface featuresassociated with them.The Archaeological Survey of

Ireland (ASI), as part of theNational Monuments Service(NMS), has led the way over thelast 50 years in the discovery,recording and protection ofmonuments of Ireland. The pur-pose of the ASI is to compile aninventory of archaeological monu-ments in the State.The information gathered is

stored on a database and in aseries of paper files in the NMSarchive. The database and archivecontain records of all known orpossible monuments pre-datingAD 1700 and also includes aselection of monuments from thepost-AD 1700 period. There arealmost 150,000 records in thedatabase and approximately138,000 of these relate to

archaeological monuments.Most of these monuments

have been entered into theRecord of Monuments and Places(RMP) and are now protectedunder the National MonumentsAct (for more information aboutthe ASI and the RMP visitwww.archaeology.ie).Surveys and excavations are also

carried out by archaeologists inthe Underwater Archaeology Unit(UAU) of the NMS.This has resulted in the estab-

lishment of The Shipwreck Inven-tory of Ireland (SII), providing abetter picture of our marine,riverine and military heritage,from prehistoric dug-out canoesto early medieval wooden bridgesand 16th-century Spanish Armadawrecks.In addition to survey, archaeo-

logical excavation is one of themost common methods of findingout about our past. Excavationallows archaeologists to gatherinformation about all kinds ofmonuments, whether they areupstanding, buried or submerged.It can tell us a lot about the form,fabric, function and date ofmonuments, how they evolvedover time and the major eventsin their lifecycle.For example the evidence of

attack on a medieval castle orshipwreck, or the abandonment ofa settlement after a fire, can oftenbe detected.In Ireland, all archaeological ex-

cavations are carried out by pro-fessionally-qualified archaeologistslicensed by the Department ofArts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht.A licence is also required to use

a metal detector for archaeologicalpurposes and to carry out certainspecialist surveys.The main reasons for

archaeological excavation are forresearch purposes or in advance ofdevelopment. In both cases,excavation involves documentaryand map research, possible geo-physical survey, as well as detailedrecording, planning and excava-tion techniques.Archaeological excavation is

based on the geological principalof stratigraphy, where each layerof soil is treated as an individualevent in time — the bottom layerbeing the oldest ‘event’ and eachsuccessive layer above this becom-ing younger or earlier ‘events’ asyou approach ground levels. So,the most recent layer could be thesod in a field or the tarmac in acarpark. The archaeologistrecords, plans and excavates eachlayer, starting with the mostrecent (top) layer.Within each of these layers

there may be differences in soilcolour and texture that an experi-enced archaeologist will recogniseas features associated with that soillayer. When excavated, thesefeatures may represent the remains

of posts that once formed part ofa timber structure, or the founda-tion trench that supported a wat-tle-and-daub wall. Some largerfeatures may be defensive ditchesoutside medieval towns, or hearthsor rubbish pits.The recording of these features

gradually builds the picture of themonument, what it was used for,

whether people lived, worked orcelebrated there, when it was inuse and for how long. Thisinformation is often corroboratedand enhanced by post-excavationanalysis of the materials recorded.For more information in the

processes involved go towww.itsabouttime.ie Theme 3,Units 2-4.Most archaeologists directing an

excavation will have specialistson hand to advise on artefactretrieval, identification and con-servation, as well as environmentalsampling and human/animal boneanalysis. Today, many archaeolo-gists specialise in these areas ofpost-excavation analysis and cantell us much more about themonuments and the peopleassociated with them.Information about past

populations and cultures can beobtained from human remains.These are often found in associa-tion with early Christian ormedieval burial grounds, or asisolated prehistoric burials.Specialists called osteoarchaeolo-

gists are required on-site to adviseon human remains, so that detailsabout the lifestyle of that particu-lar population, their diet and howhealthy they were can be postulat-

ed. Osteoarchaeologists can oftendetect accidental or violentinjuries — which can also tell usabout lifestyle — as well as the ill-nesses that people may have suf-fered from.Zooarchaeologists specialise in

identifying animal bone and,along with environmental archae-ologists, provide us with im-portant information aboutpast environments andhow they changedover time. Togeth-er, this range ofspecialists cangive accurate in-formation on so-cieties, the ani-mals being bredand eaten, thecrops and plantsbeing grown andharvested, the wildnuts and berries beinggathered and stored, eventhe type of wood being usedfor construction — all at a partic-ular site or period in time.Post-excavation analysis also in-

cludes pottery and flint specialists,as well as conservators — andvery often it is all this expertise,along with carbon dates from soiland charcoal samples, that help ar-chaeologists to date a site or mon-ument to a certain time in ourpast and interpret its story throughtime (see www.discoverypro-gramme.ie or www.excava-tions.ie).While most people think of

archaeologists as excavators andfieldworkers, many archaeologists

work in universities and colleges,where they not only foster an un-derstanding and appreciation of ourheritage, but also carry out researchthat adds to our knowledge of thepast. Archaeologists also work ingovernment departments and localauthorities, providing advice onplanning anddevelopment, legislation, policy

and codes of practice.With the recent advancesinscience and technology,archaeologists have ac-cess to scientific tech-niques like LiDARand geophysics. Ar-chaeology is so muchmore than scrapingthe ground with atrowel or washingbones in a basin. It isintegral to the protection

of our heritage for futuregenerations.

Archaeologists are not just‘interested’ in the past, they help toprovide us with importantinformation about our history andancient heritage.They often shed new light on

known historical events, enabling aflow of information and knowledgebetween our educational institutionsand legislative and protectionagencies.The information gathered by ar-

chaeologists about our monumentsand artefacts, past populations andenvironments ensures our archaeo-logical and historical heritage is bet-ter understood, appreciated and pro-tected.

ANCIENT LANDSCAPE

Visit www.ceidefields.com tofind out more about thisancient landscape.

SECRETS OF OUR BOGS

Go to http://exa.mn/1iz to findout more fascinating factsabout the bog bodies that havebeen discovered in variousparts of Ireland.

■ Go to Theme 3 Unit 3 tobecome a CeramicDetective. And find outmore about what’s involvedin pottery analysis.

LIGHT DETECTION

LiDAR – Light Detection AndRanging is a remote sensingtechnology that uses a laser tocollect height and elevationaldata. The laser emits a lightpulse and the time taken forthe pulse to return back to asensor is recorded, giving adistance between objects.

Geophysics is the non-invasive investigation

of subsurface conditions inthe earth through measur-ing, analysing and interpret-ing physical fields at thesurface. Some of the meth-ods commonly employed in-

clude: electromagnet-ics, ground-penetrating

radar andresistivity.